I read this article today called "The Truth About Epidurals". I was obviously expecting to be slightly annoyed at the content of it, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it was written. The information is presented in a biased, yes, but matter of fact way. Birth articles tend to get emotional, and this author did a good job. BUT....
What always drives me crazy about these kinds of discussions on the birth issue is that natural birth does not mean just no epidural. It means so many other things. I chose to have our baby outside of the hospital because I wanted the option to NOT have....Pitocin, unnecessary IV fluids, antibiotic eye ointment, Hep B vaccine, to not have to deliver on my back, to not have a ticking clock on my labor progression, or an automatic induction if I was overdue, etc.
If I had just wanted no epidural, I probably would have delivered in a hospital, like so many women do just fine. But so many of those other standard protocol interventions were not what I wanted as part of our birth experience, and I believe many of them would have made it harder to give birth without pain medication. And the fact that they don't offer, at least where we live, alternative methods to coping with pain is pretty backwards to me. None of the hospitals in Utah offer a birthing tub at all. A CNM told me that they can't let women labor in tubs because the malpractice insurance won't cover them if they do. So that tells me that their decisions during my birth would be made based on pleasing their insurance company rather than on what was best for me as an individual.
Maybe epidurals are better than they were 20 years ago as the article states, but it does not change the fact that birth has been overmedicalized in a billion other ways. And it IS a slippery slope of interventions, no one can deny that. The author of the article even said that she blames her emergency C-section on the fact that she was medically induced.
I'm not someone who judges how other women give birth, I think it's a fundamental right for women to choose that experience for themselves. But what does bother me is the lack of research that women put into how they will give birth. I wish women read more books or just talked more openly about childbirth experiences. Make an INFORMED decision rather than just going in blindly hoping things go okay. Maybe I'm just a control freak and wanted to know every detail of everything that could happen to me during childbirth. But everything went exactly how I had hoped, and I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful experience. And I believe that being prepared and informed was 99% of why it went so well for us.
But I don't know the other side because I obviously have never had an epidural, or hospital birth, or an emergency that required medical intervention. I love to hear any birth experiences, and would love it if anyone wants to share theirs and how they made that decision!
6 comments:
You are so right. The hospital felt like a birth factory. They get you in and out as fast as possible. They do not look at you like a PERSON.
I also hate all the other stuff you mentioned: eye ointment, mandatory IV and antibiotics, pain pills for after, and they sure kept pushing that epidural, and I HATED having to be on my back the whole time...man, I could just go on and on. One reason that I was so happy that you were doing a Birth Center is because I HATED my hospital experience.
I was grateful to be there in case of an emergency, and I'm glad (I guess) that they do vaccines, etc, just in case, but it really gets in the way. Labor is hard enough already. It would be nice just to be able to writhe in peace, for crying out loud! :)
And yes, even after all of this, I am doing it the same way again; same doctor, same hospital. I didn't want to, I wanted to see a midwife, but the Spirit told me "no." So, for whatever reason, here we go again.
This is one of those topics that mother's LOVE to blab on and on about (myself included). I think it's because it is such a major deal to us, but no one ever really talks about it, so when someone brings it up, we are all just BURSTING at the seams to get our thoughts out there.
That's so funny. Anna really expressed everything I felt about my hospital experience. Right down to "I'm still going to do it again."
And that's what I always loved about having you as a friend-- that even though we have polar opposite feelings on where and how to give birth, you were actually always one of my greatest advocates for my hospital birth. Just because, as we've discussed SO MANY times, the RIGHT way to give birth is however you feel most COMFORTABLE (maybe not always physically...) giving birth.
I loved that I could complain to you about my experience, and that you still understood (I think? haha) and supported me being ok with so much medical intervention. That you never said, "See-- that's such a bad way to have a baby!"
I think, as women, we should really work harder to be more supportive. And I think "being more supportive" DEFINITELY includes facilitating more open discussions about birth options--- discussions that don't condemn or make you feel stupid. We should be helping one another get through physically/emotionally draining experience (no matter how you do it!)-- and helping to inform where helpful/appropriate.
Thanks for always being a good pregnancy/birth/mothering conversationalist :)
I'm was so impressed when I first heard that you had a natural birth. I went back and forth so many times when deciding to go natural or medicated. My dad finally convinced me that I didn't have to prove anything to anybody and to just do what I wanted.
I had wonderful midwives who looked over me throughout the pregnancy and it made the world of a difference during my labor and delivery. No doctor popping in for the birth who doesn't even know me or my pregnancy history.
I went into labor naturally (two days late), my epidural was fantastic, my labor progressed fast, I pushed for 8 minutes, Jack was born without any complications, nursed like a champ, and I healed really quickly.
The whole experience was enjoyable, relaxing and I couldn't have asked for better. I agree with what has already been said. You do what's right for you. Home births aren't as dangerous and scary as all the doctors say and epidurals don't cause complications as much as people think.
WEll...since you asked. ;) I'll tell you my story. I WANTED a natural birth, no induction, epidural, etc, immediate skin to skin and nursing. Unfortunately, NOTHING went the way I wanted.
I did my research. I read the bradley method, hypno birthing, took a lamaze class. But I went with an OB GYN out of fear. He acted supportive, until my due date came, and passed. 2 days late he had me come in for a NST. He said my fluids were a low when looking from a certain angle on the ultrasound, but fine from another angle, so he wanted me induced...NOW! (make sense to you? cause it didn't to me). I said, I wanted to wait and go into labor spontaneously, and asked how dangerous it would be to wait, and he said his coworker would be annoyed if he had to come in over the weekend and if I wanted him to deliver my baby I had to start induction today. GRRRRR...I felt so betrayed. He left the room and I fell into Scott's arms sobbing. I went home to get my stuff and kept asking if I could tell my Dr. NO! I called both my moms (one of which had an at-home, water birth) and both told me not to take chances with things like that, and to do what my dr. said. Scott gave me a blessing, and we went in, much to my horror.
They put me on cirvadel JUST to ripen my cervix because I was only 1 cm. But of course, I went into labor. I labored all night 6pm-6am when it was time for the pitocin. BUT I was walking around, trying to cope with labor, and they needed me to lie down to get the pitocin. I didn't want to. So I had the nurse check me, still a 1, after 12 hours of awful labor. I knew if I laid down I would DIE, and thought if I didn't, I would never progress, so I got the epidural. They put me on pitocin for 5 min. and had to take me off bc baby was distressed. I went the rest of the way without any pitocin. I slept 8 hours, which I desperately needed. If I hadn't gotten that rest, I wouldn't have had the energy to push him out.
He was 9lbs 6oz. and had a head measuring 4 weeks ahead. If I hadn't pushed him as quickly as I did, Doc would have cut me open. In fact, he came in as Tommy was crowning and said, "It's a miracle. I can't believe you're actually gonna do it. I was coming in here to tell you you're having a c-section."
Earlier they broke my water, and there was meconium. So my dream of having tommy put immediately on my chest when born was out the window. But I was told after his lungs were clear they would bring him RIGHT back for skin to skin. That didn't happen either. they gave him shots, weighed and measured him, all while i and scott were both telling him to give me tommy. :( I'm doing the birthing center next time, provided insurance covers it. I really feel like I missed out on some amazing bonding because of the snowball effect of hospital birth.
You can look on my blog for my birth story but I have to admit that I had an amazing labor. I had to be induced because I was late but it went so great. Without the medication I have had to have a c section. The hospital was AMAZING! I feel so bad for those experiences that were bad for others. I had to remind myself that it was my experience. They gave suggestions as to when to get and epidural if I wanted and all kinds of others things but the nurses and doctors were great. I enjoyed every bit of it. I wasn't in too much pain but not completely numb. I loved your story but never had much of a desire to go natural. I did plenty of research on techniques and such because you never know. It helped a lot with pushing though. Giving birth is definitely a personal thing. I am glad that it is so that we can each have our own experience
Post a Comment